Through his work with mathematician Sir Roger Penrose he demonstrated that Einstein's general theory of relativity implies space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes.

The scientist gained popularity outside the academic world and appeared in several TV shows including The Simpsons, Red Dwarf and The Big Bang Theory.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the web, said: "We have lost a colossal mind and a wonderful spirit. Rest in peace, Stephen Hawking," he said.

The vice chancellor of the University of Cambridge - where Prof Hawking had studied and worked - Professor Stephen Toope, said he was a "unique individual" who would be remembered with "warmth and affection".

Prof James Hartle, who worked with him to create the Hartle-Hawking wavefunction to explain the Big Bang, said Prof Hawking had a "unique" ability to "see through all the clutter in physics" and get to the point.

He told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: "My memory of him would be… first our work together as scientists and, second, as a human being whose whole story is a triumph over adversity [and] who inspired a lot of people, including me."

The comedian and presenter of the BBC's Stargazing Live Dara O'Briain said the scientist had an "immeasurable life" and "one of the few people I would call a hero of mine".

Theoretical physicist, professor Jim Al-Khalili, from Surrey University said Prof Hawking had a tremendous sense of humour.

He told BBC Radio Surrey: "He was a fun loving guy. Inside that shell, inside that body that was paralysed, was someone who was full of vigour, full of passion for life."

Hawking's discoveries

With the Oxford mathematician Roger Penrose, he showed that if there was a Big Bang, it must have started from an infinitely small point - a singularity

Black holes radiate energy known as Hawking radiation, while gradually losing mass. This is due to quantum effects near the edge of the black hole, a region called the event horizon

He predicted the existence of mini-black holes at the time of the Big Bang. These black holes would have shed mass until they vanished, potentially ending their lives in an explosion that would release vast amounts of energy

In the 1970s, Hawking considered whether the particles and light that enter a black hole were ultimately destroyed if the black hole evaporated. Hawking initially thought that this "information" was lost from the Universe. But the US physicist Leonard Susskind disagreed. These ideas became known as the information paradox. In 2004, Hawking conceded that the information must be conserved

British astronaut Tim Peake said Prof Hawking "inspired generations to look beyond our own blue planet and expand our understanding of the universe".

Gian Giudice, head of theoretical physics at the European nuclear research laboratory CERN, said Prof Hawking had a "great impact" on the centre's research, adding: "A giant of our field has left us, but his immortal contributions will remain forever."